Southwest Passengers, Represented by Law Firm Baum Hedlund, File Lawsuits against Southwest, Boeing, and the City of Chicago for the Midway Airport Crash in Chicago
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 2005--Two passengers, represented by national aviation law firm Baum Hedlund, filed lawsuits today in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, against Southwest Airlines, Boeing, and the City of Chicago, for negligence, conscious disregard for safety, and strict liability for causing the December 8, 2005, Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 to run off Runway 31C and crash-land during a snowstorm. The Boeing 737-700 plowed through a fence and onto a busy street, striking several vehicles. The plane landed on top of a car, killing a young boy and injuring his family members. Passengers suffered among other things fear, pre-impact terror, distress, and physical harm. During the following hours they were confined in buses and the terminal.
Mariko L.A. Bennett and Stanley L. Penn were traveling together to celebrate Stanley's birthday. Mariko suffered internal injuries and Stanley's back was injured. They were kept on the plane with the other passengers for a very long time and felt trapped. When the paramedics arrived, they told them that they were directed to the wrong place, which contributed to the delay. They were forced to evacuate the airplane using the emergency slides, and thereafter were confined in a Shuttle Bus for nearly three hours.
Bennett and Penn have hired a national aviation law firm, Baum Hedlund, to represent them in this case. Two Baum Hedlund aviation attorneys handling this case represented the largest number of passengers injured in the 2000 Southwest runway crash of its Flight 1455. Baum Hedlund has associated a Chicago-based aviation law firm, Rapoport Law Offices, to prosecute these cases with them.
Ronald L.M. Goldman was a lead attorney handling the discovery deposition efforts and Clark Aristei acted as lead plaintiffs' counsel for the Coordinated Discovery Cases in the Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 runway crash-landing in Burbank, California, on March 5, 2000. That plane came in "hot and high" and careened off the end of the runway, through barriers, crossed the street, hit a car, and came to rest mere feet from gasoline pumps at a service station. The Midway crash in Chicago is frighteningly similar to the Burbank crash.
Here's the facts sheet for the above the above lawsuit:
See attached Fact Sheet
FACT SHEET
Allegations Summary:
Against Southwest Airlines: Negligence and Conscious Disregard for Safety
Against Boeing: Strict Liability
Against The City of Chicago: Negligence
Against Southwest Airlines:
• As a common carrier Southwest had a duty to its passengers to use the highest degree of care to protect their safety. On December 8, 2005, in violation of this duty Southwest negligently, carelessly and improperly: began an unsafe approach given the prevailing weather, visibility and runway conditions; failed to abandon the approach before it was too late; touched down too far from the threshold of runway 31C; lost control of the aircraft; and failed to stop the aircraft on the runway.
• At the time of the accident, the negligent pilots were unable to stop the aircraft because of its excessive speed upon landing, given a short, slippery runway, the point of touchdown. The company policy against use of the autobrake system, lack of proper instruction and training in its use, contributed to the crash.
• Attempting to make up for lost time, the Southwest pilots intentionally, willfully, recklessly and wantonly flew the airplane in a dangerous manner, including, but not limited to, flying the landing approach at dangerous speeds well in excess of safe speeds for the conditions of short runway length, slippery runway conditions, tailwind, wind speed, visibility, and snow, among other things, during the approach to land and landing on runway 31C at Midway Airport.
• Failing to abort the landing at Midway Airport and execute a “go-around†or request diversion to an alternate runway or airport despite notice and knowledge that the landing was unsafe and was likely to result in a crash landing posed a serious risk to, and endangered the lives of, their crew, passengers, and others on the ground.
• Southwest pressured the pilots by scheduling only a 20-minute “turn around†in Midway before flight 1248 was scheduled to depart for Las Vegas. On December 8, 2005, Flight 1248 was already two hours late to Las Vegas.
• Failing to stop the aircraft within the perimeter of Midway Airport, such that it crashed through two fences at the perimeter of the airport and emerged into traffic on South Central Avenue and West 55th Street, public streets in Chicago.
Against Boeing:
• Boeing’s autobrake system and the reverse thrust system aboard the jet airplane were each defective in design and manufacture, and failed to safely or properly operate in the manner intended by defendants, and failed to safely or properly operate as reasonably expected by users, including the Southwest Flight 1248 pilots. Boeing represented and advertised that these systems would safely and properly operate as intended by Southwest and other operators.
Against The City of Chicago:
• The City of Chicago negligently, carelessly and improperly failed to: monitor the conditions of runway 31C; maintain runway 31C in a reasonably safe condition for air carrier operations; and failed to close runway 31C in order to clear snow, ice, etc.
As a result of the acts and conduct of defendants, and each of them, plaintiffs, and each of them, have been injured in their health, strength and activity, and have been caused physical and mental pain and suffering, including, but not limited to, physical injury, pre-impact fear of injury and emotional distress by each plaintiff.
